ERIC YOUNG OBE, a former member of the British diplomatic Service and a journalist, has died aged 87. After a series of eventful postings around the world his last posting was as High Commissioner in the Seychelles. He was there when there was an attempted mutiny by the army and the main island of Mahe was under curfew. With the Union flag flying on his official car he went out to see how the British tourists and residents were coping with the situation. He soon found himself at a roadblock with a group of Tanzanian troops pointing their AK47’s at him. However, his fluent Swahili got him through with an escort to accompany him around the island. Not long after a huge explosion went off behind his house where Young was serving drinks. The Russian ambassador looked at Young and winked saying “that will be my boys arriving here” and Young replied in fluent Russian: “they are late.” It turned out to be engineers blasting a mountain to make way for a new road. Thank you John Sankey for sending this from The Times – Editor.

STEVEN KANUMBA, aged 28, popular actor and star of numerous local “Bongo” films, died on 7th April during an argument with his girlfriend Elizabeth Michael (known as Lulu) who was later charged with his murder. More than 30,000 mourners attended the funeral in Dar-es-Salaam. President Kikwete tweeted his condolences and was reported to have delayed a foreign trip when he heard the news of Mr Kanumba’s death. He praised the “talented young man who was playing a big role to develop the movie industry and marketing Tanzania abroad”. Nicknamed “The Great”, Mr Kanumba was a household name in Tanzania and had also recently become popular in Ghana and starred in Nigeria’s Nollywood films.